𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈

𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 — 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒆𝒔𝒂𝒏'𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒚. it was only just a brief passage of time. but far too many things happened too quickly and far too many things changed too much.

the sudden advent of prince chaesong suddenly appearing with the fact revealing that he not only bonded with not one, but three dragons was more than enough to shook the fire nation to its core. but for the fire lord chaesan herself publicly declaring him to be her heir and the new crown prince had left everyone blindsided. all the while the people of the nation were flabbergasted, the former crown prince simply retreats into hiding.

hyunhee couldn't possibly comprehend the feelings the youngest prince must have felt. it is one thing to have the position you've held for so many years to be taken away from you in just a flash, but it is another to be demoted so overtly. from what very little of fragmentary information she heard of the prince, hyunhee knew that prince chaehwi had worked endlessly to proved himself worthy of the throne even despite his treacherous health. but lamentably, there is no swansong to commemorate his desperate desperate efforts that in the end bore him no fruits.

steams roll high, and crystal clear water were positively bubbling; boiling with an immense amount of the finest medicinal herbs that one could find.

a rare exception since that fateful day; prince chaehwi had come to the royal spa for a visit, creating a buzz among the numerous maidservants that were employed at the royal family's private spa. as the prince had requested for more hot water to put in his bath, one of the servants should have immediately served the hot water just as the royal requested. but instead, with the bucket filled with brewed hot herbal water held in her dainty hands; the responsibility lies onto her to do the duty.

with a small deep breath, she took a small step forward into the private bath of the prince; desperately hoping it would merely be a quick task on hand. "your highness," she carefully bows, mindful to not spill any of the water. "please allow me to pour the water for your bath." she asked, her eyes remained fixated on the wooden tiles, not daring to even look upon the youngest prince.

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 — 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐, 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍. for the mother she had chosen, who unfortunately wasn't given the chance to choose her own fate neither her own resting place. she wasn't given a grave, her body buried among the many of the unmarked – simply discarded. so, this was merely the best hyunhee could ever do, praying for the departed before the cell where she last lie. her ( seeking, weeping ) heart bleeds, hoping that her beloved mother would found peace among the spirits unlike the living. dearest, darling, mother. may you found the serenity you have always deserved but never received.

slowly, the smokes flickered, softly fading into the air — bringing her pleas along; and with that, her prayers for the time are done. steadily, she rises to her feet, putting away the sticks with meticulous care before she turns to another corner — her time at the capital prison city isn't done just yet.

due to the dim luminescence within these cold walls of the stone prison, it is almost impossible to take a glimpse of what is ahead. but hyunhee had walked through these frigid corridors far to many times to not know what awaits her; a dear friend.

she sauntered forward to a certain cell, her dainty fingers curled around the steel bars as her eyes fall upon a familiar face. a gentle smile pulls at the corners of her roseate tiers but he wouldn't be able to see it nor did he ever, not for the fact that her lower half of her facial features had always been veiled with a silken mask. though her eyes, dark in obsidian iris, were kind and gentle enough to let the other know that she feels nothing but genial affections for him.

"my lord, gwanji" she calls; the tilt of a humming bird. "i'm here," discreet as one can be, she takes a small box wrapped in a fabric sewn with red florets embroidery from her sleeves before handing the box to him. "i hope you don't mind how unsightly the embroidery looks, i still haven't quite mastered at it yet." her eyes dances with humor. "i brought you some fruits and pastries from the royal palace, if that is okay?"

𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐰𝐚 𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 — 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕. life for her at the royal palace was monotonous yet simple but it was peaceful. and most importantly, it was safe — even as war continues to plagued the fire nation.

but those days come to an end — right at the hour of eagle when hyunhee was suddenly summoned by the head maid to meet only to be told that she was chosen to be the new attendant for princess— no, crown princess chaeyeon who had only just been named heir to the fire lord only a day ago.

anxiety molds into confusion, dark brows furrowed above the bridge of her veiled nose whilst she tries to comprehend her new reality. surely, this was a mistake. there were so many other servants who could have taken the job, so many other handmaidens who were far more experienced than her when it comes to serving royalty. she, on the other hand, absolutely had none so does it made sense for serve someone of such prestige?

hyunhee makes no sound; she doesn't ask— she simply follows the head maid as she led her to greet her new master. all whilst the handmaiden rummaged through her countless yet ill-defined memories, trying to remember all the fragmentary pieces of information on the princess that she passively gathered from the whispers of gossip from the other servants.

it is within these crimson-painted walls that she is suddenly reminded of the memories she had of the crown princess, once tucked away into the depths of her mind. the countless times she walked through these corridors, serving the crown princess's mother, witnessing her viscous fits of anger, the crown princess' vacuous eyes and the origins of the many scars she earned on her hands— itching the closer she walks to her destination.

a part of her wonders, would the crown princess remember her?

the head maid's steps come to a sudden halt and, right in front of her, the two royal guards stand guard by the door. one nods, holding the door open so that they may proceed inside. the head maid stepped in first— hyunhee follows. even from her position, she doesn't dare to raise her head, knowing that the crown princess stands only a few steps right before her.

"your highness, crown princess chaeyeon." the head maid greeted the royal with such ease that hyunhee slightly envies the older woman for it, a statement of her many years serving the royal family. "i present to you, hwa hyunhee, your new handmaiden."

"your highness, crown princess chaeyeon. it is an honor to serve you." she whispered, cautiously stepping forward with a fleeting bow of her head, her muscles instinctively tenses beneath her garments. she tentatively settles her ebony gaze upon the princess, as she does everything in her power to silence the anxiety bubbling venomous within.

here i present to you a small timeline for hyunhee's current position as well as some character updates! i'm of course, very much accepting of any kind of plots coming my way so please do like this post if you're interested in plotting for the event! though i'm also very open to do any past plots!

50 B.

what does one exactly do when wars have suddenly erupted? for hyunhee, she could nothing but watch the mayhem that unfolded right before her eyes. she was merely a maid, a commoner and her place was bound to serving the royal court at the royal palace.

the royal family is divided and everything is changing far too quickly. hyunhee is worried what this might entail for the future to come.

49 B to 48 B.

gossips and whispers travelled faster through the mouths of the other handmaidens. hyunhee heard the tales of the wars and her heart aches at the knowledge of innocent people dying left and right and yet, like many, she could no thing.

princess chaeyeon, the dragon of south had just been named heir and crown princess. out of all the handmaidens, hyunhee has been chosen to be the crown princess' personal handmaiden.

with the head maid getting older and more weaker by the time , i like to think that hyunhee is now acting as a pseudo-head in maid, simply taking after the head maid's responsibilities such as greeting royals and nobles whenever they come to the royal palace. although she very much hopes that the head maid would soon recover and return to her position again.

47 B.

split between her duties as a personal handmaiden to the crown princess and acting as a second in common/assistant for the head maid, hyunhee feels like she's slowly burning out with how busy she's becoming.

not to mention, she's now also helping with the upcoming wedding preparations so she's extremely stressed with everything whilst worrying about the outcome of the war. it almost feels like there's something that's trying to tell her that soon everything will go wrong but only time can tell.

𝐡𝐰𝐚 𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐞, 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒌.

she's 25 years old now, tired and completely overworked.

since serving the crown princess chaeyeon, she had actually bonded with the princess despite her previous judgments of royals and nobles alike.

her previous assumptions of nobles and royals were arrogant creatures who no doubt sacrifice their servants and think of them as disposable as they grew hungry for power is in conflict as she's serving them and getting to know the real them.

sometimes, at night, she can be found trying to pray for the departed that loves their lives in the war, praying that the spirits would take mercy on them and praying that sooner or later this war can be over.

is also extremely worried sick of the head maid who's getting more older and tired by the weeks as the old woman had helped raised her for so many years and hyunhee doesn't know what to do if she lost her as well.

not to mention, there's still a whole wedding and now she's partly responsible in making sure that everything goes smoothly.

a part of her desperately wishes to go back to the peaceful life she had at the palace but knows that's merely a foolish dream now

plot ideas!

i would definitely love for hyunhee to bring some comfort to others who's suffering too much loss in this war. let her listen to you worries and your rants as well as your want

kim yoojung. cis-female. she/her. presenting hwa hyunhee, twenty three-year-old non - bender and the royal palace's handmaiden. resilient yet taciturn, they find themself impartial to fire lord chaesan’s reign. will this be their salvation or their undoing ? - penned by nevie. 20. she/her.

hello hello everyone! the name's nevie ( she/her, 20, gmt +8) and I'm very happy to show off the masked handmaiden, hwa hyunhee to all of you! I've been following this rp for a while and everyone of you guys write so beautifully that i can't help myself to join so I'm very excited to plot with you all! please do like this post and i'll message you to plot! i also do have discord if that makes plotting easier!  hyunhee is still a very new muse so honestly I'm just ready to figure her out along the ride!